ASTRA
2007 4 pm, Sunday 22 April Holy Rosary Church Kensington, Melbourne
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THE ASTRA CHOIR IN ASSOCIATION WITH SPEAK PERCUSSION
Luigi Dallapiccola SONGS OF IMPRISONMENT
Carlo Gesualdo TENEBRAE RESPONSORIES
Hanns Eisler AGAINST WAR
James Tenney, Fritz Hauser
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Blessed, who could loosen the fetters of the heavy earth
Boethius
They placed me in a solitary desert
Tenebrae liturgy, Good Friday
This war is not our war
Brecht
Mary Anderson harp Delyth Stafford harp Kim Bastin piano, organ Joan Pollock piano
Speak Percussion:
Eugene Ughetti (Artistic Director), Peter Neville, Steve Fitzgerald, Christopher Lane, Timothy Phillips, Daniel Richardson, Matthias Schack-Arnott, Greg Sully
The Astra Choir:
soprano Jessica Aszodi, Irene McGinnigle, Gina McWilliam, Catrina Seiffert, Yvonne Turner, Louisa Billeter, Andrea McAdam, Maree Macmillan, Kim Tan alto Pen Alexander, Hana Crisp, Anna Gifford, Susannah Provan, Beverley Bencina, Aviva Endean, Frances McKinnon, Aline Scott-Maxwell, Lisel Thomas tenor Timothy Drylie, Kevin March, William Thompson, Jon Drews, Greg Deakin, Simon Johnson, Nicholas Tolhurst, Phillip Villani bass Karl Billeter, James Harland, Bradley Posselt, Andrew Ferguson, Jerzy Kozlowski, Andrew Rostas, Chris Smith, John Terrell
Solo voices: Jessica Aszodi, Catrina Seiffert, Louisa Billeter soprano Hana Crisp mezzo soprano Timothy Drylie, Kevin March tenor Nicholas Tolhurst baritone Jerzy Kozlowski bass
conducted by John McCaughey
Production: Wally Gunn Recording Engineer: Michael Hewes Astra Manager: Bobbie Hodge
2 PROGRAMME 13th C Sequence DIES IRAE male voices
Gregorian hymn O GLORIOSA DOMINA female voices
Carlo Gesualdo TENEBRAE RESPONSORIES (1611) six-part choir
II. Tristis est anima mea Gregorian Lectio: Lamentation Of Jeremiah COGITAVIT DOMINUS solo bass
X. Omnes amici mei Gregorian Psalm 53 ALIENI INSURREXERUNT IN ME
XIV. Tenebrae factus est
Carlo Gesualdo Motet: AVE DULCISSIMA MARIA
James Tenney WAKE (1974) quartet for tenor drums
Lectio: Lamentation Of Jeremiah MATRIBUS SUIS DIXERUNT solo tenor
XXIII. O vos omnes 13th C Sequence O MARIA VIRGO PIA female voices
XXIV. Ecce quomodo moritur
James Tenney HOCKET (1974) quartet for bass drums
XXVI. Factus sum sine adjutorio
Hanns Eisler GEGEN DEN KRIEG – AGAINST WAR (1936) 24 Variations for choir, poems by Bertolt Brecht
I n t e r v a l
Fritz Hauser ZEICHNUNG – DRAWING (2002) duo for 2 players and 4 cymbals
Carlo Gesualdo / augmented Igor Stravinsky DA PACEM, DOMINE five-part choir
Luigi Dallapiccola CANTI DI PRIGIONIA – SONGS OF IMPRISONMENT (1938-41) 1. PRAYER of Mary Stuart 2. INVOCATION of Boethius 3. FAREWELL of Savonarola choir, 2 pianos, 2 harps, 8 percussion
Hanns Eisler CANON: PEACE ON EARTH (1946)
3 voices and instruments 13th century Sequence DIES IRAE
Dies irae, dies illa, Day of wrath, that dreaded day, solvet saeclum in favilla, will dissolve the world in coals, teste David cum Sibylla. foreseen by David and the Sibyl.
Quantus tremor est futurus, How much trembling there will be quando judex est venturus, when the judge of all comes forth, cuncta stricte discussurus! sternly sifting every deed!
Tuba mirum spargens sonum A trumpet of astounding sound per sepulchra regionum, calling through the region’s graves, coget omnes ante thronum. will summon all before the throne.
Mors stupebit er natura, Death will be stunned, nature too, cum resurget creatura, when all creatures rise again, judicanti responsura. answering to the judge of all.
Liber scriptus proferetur, The written book will be brought forth, in quo totum continetur, in which every deed is entered, unde mundus judicetur. whence the world can then be judged.
Iudex ergo cum sedebit, When the judge thus takes his seat quidquid latet apparebit, whatever is hidden will be shown, nil inultum remanebit. nothing will stay unavenged.
Qui Mariam absolvisti, You who absolved Mary Magdalene, et latronem exaudisti, and heard the thief's prayer, mihi quoque spem dedisti. to me you have also given hope.
Preces meae non sunt dignae, My prayers are not worthy, sed tu, bonus, fac benigne, but you, the good, grant freely ne perenni cremer igne. that I do not burn in the eternal fire.
Recordare, Jesu pie, Call to mind then, gracious Jesus, quod sum causa tuae viae, that I am your journey’s cause, ne me perdas illa die. do not lose me on that day.
Quaerens tue sedisti lassus, Seeking me, you sat exhausted, redemisti crucem passus; redeemed me taking on the cross, tantus labor non sit cassus, let such toil not be in vain.
Lacrimosa dies illa, Full of tears will be that day qua resurget ex favilla when from the coals shall rise again judicandus homo reus sinful humans to be judged. Huic ergo parce, Deus. Therefore pardon them, o God. Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen. Merciful Lord Jesus, give them rest. Amen.
– attributed to Tomaso of Celano, 13th C.
Gregorian hymn O GLORIOSA DOMINA
O gloriosa domina, O glorious lady, quem magna cruciamina, how great was your anguish, cum Barrabas dimittitur, when Barrabas was released, et Christi poenas patitur. and Christ was delivered to suffering.
Pastorem heu percutiunt, The shepherd, alas, they slew, oves disperse fugiunt, the sheep fled and scattered, te sola, dilectissimo, you alone, O dearest one, manente cum discipulo. remained with the disciple.
Non mirum si sis anxia, No wonder that you were distressed, commota tali furia, and stirred to such anger, te sciens puram virginem, knowing yourself a pure virgin, Christum deum et hominem. and Christ both God and human.
Sit laus, honor, devotio, Praise, honour and devotion be Jhesu Marie filio, to Jesus son of Mary, tenso crucis patibulo who was fastened to the cross pro redimento populo. for the redemption of his people. 4
Carlo Gesualdo TRISTIS EST ANIMA MEA Second Responsory for Maundy Thursday
II. Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem: Sorrowful is my spirit, even unto death: sustinete hic, et vigilate mecum: stay here and watch with me: nunc videbitis turbam, now you will see the crowd quae circumdabit me: that will surround me: Vos fugam capietis, you will all flee away, et ego vadam immolari pro vobis. and I shall go to be offered up for you.
Ecce appropinquat hora, Behold the time draws near, et filius hominis tradetur and the son of man shall be delivered in manus peccatorum. into the hands of sinners.
Vos fugam capietis, You will all flee away, et ego vadam immolari pro vobis. and I shall go to be offered up for you.
Gregorian Lectio: Lamentations of Jeremiah COGITAVIT DOMINUS Good Friday liturgy, solo bass
De Lamentatione Jeremìae Prophetae: From the Lamentation of Jeremiah the Prophet:
HETH Heth. Cogitavit Dominus dissipare murum filiae Sion: The Lord thought to devastate the wall of the daughter of Sion: tetendit funiculum suum, he stretched out his measuring line, et non avertit manum suam a perditione: and has not averted his hand from ruin: luxitque antemurale the ramparts mourned et murus pariter dissipatus est. and the wall alike was destroyed.
TETH Teth. Defixae sunt in terra portae eius: Her gates vanish into the ground: perdidit et contrivit vectes eius: he has destroyed and scattered her bolts and bars: regem eius et principes eius in gentibus: her king and her princes are among the non-believers: non est lex et prophetae eius the law is no more, non invenerunt visionem a Domino. and her prophets cannot recognize a vision from the Lord.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum return to the Lord your God.
Carlo Gesualdo OMNES AMICI MEI First Responsory for Good Friday
X. Omnes amici mei dereliquerunt me, All my friends have abandoned me, et praevaluerunt insidiantes mihi, and those who would trap me have prevailed; tradidit me quem diligebam, I am betrayed by one whom I esteemed. Et terribilibus oculis And with terrible eyes plaga crudeli percutientes, they struck me with cruel blows, aceto potabant me. vinegar they gave me to drink.
Inter iniquos projecerunt me, They have driven me out among the iniquitous. et non pepercerunt animae meae. and have not spared my soul.
Et terribilibus oculis And with terrible eyes plaga crudeli percutientes, they struck me with cruel blows, aceto potabant me. vinegar they gave me to drink.
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Gregorian liturgy, Good Friday PSALM 53
Alieni insurrexerunt in me Strangers have risen up against me et fortes quaesierunt animam meam. and the powerful seek my soul.
1. Deus in nomine tuo salvum me fac O God, grant me salvation by your name, et in virtute tua iudica me. and judge me by your grace.
2. Deus exaudi orationem meam: O God, hear my prayer: auribus percipe verba oris mei. give ear to the words of my mouth.
3. Quoniam alieni insurrexerunt adversum me For strangers have risen up against me: et fortes quaesierunt animam meam: and the powerful seek my soul: et non proposuerunt Deum ante conspectum suum. and they have not set God before their eyes.
4. Ecce enim Deus adiuvat me For behold God is my help: et Dominus susceptor animae meae. and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
5. Averte mala inimicis meis Turn back the evils from my enemies; et in veritate tua disperde illos. and disperse them with your truth.
Alieni insurrexerunt in me Strangers have risen up against me et fortes quaesierunt animam meam. and the powerful seek my soul.
Carlo Gesualdo TENEBRAE FACTAE SUNT Fifth Responsory for Good Friday XIV.
Tenebrae factae sunt There was darkness dum crucifixissent Jesum Judaei: when the Jews crucified Jesus; et circa horam nonam exclamavit and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out Jesus voce magna: with a loud voice: ‘Deus meus, ut qui me dereliquisti?’ ‘My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?’ Et inclinato capite emisit spiritum. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
Exclamans Iesus voce magna ait: Crying out with a loud voice, Jesus said: ‘Pater, in manus tuas commendo ‘Father, into your hands I commend spiritum meum.’ my spirit.’
Et inclinato capite emisit spiritum. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
Carlo Gesualdo AVE DULCISSIMA MARIA motet for 5 voices
Ave dulcissima Maria, Hail sweetest Mary, vera spes et vita, true hope and life, dulce refrigerium! sweet relief! O Maria, flosvirginium, O Mary, flower of virgins ora pro nobis Jesum. pray for us with Jesus.
James Tenney WAKE (1974) quartet for tenor drums
6 Gregorian Lectio: Lamentations of Jeremiah MATRIBUS SUIS DIXERUNT solo tenor
De Lamentatione Jeremìae Prophetae: From the Lamentation of Jeremiah the Prophet LAMED Lamed. Matribus suis dixerunt: ubi est triticum et vinum They said to their mothers: Where is grain and wine? cum deficerent quasi vulnerati in plateis civitatis Then they collapsed like the wounded in the streets of the city. cum exhalarent animas suas in sinu matrum suarum. Then they breathed out their spirits in their mothers’ arms.
SAMECH Samech. Plauserunt super te manibus omnes transeuntes All who pass by on the way clapped their hands at you per viam sibilaverunt et moverunt caput suum they hiss and shake their heads super filiam Hierusalem over the daughter of Jerusalem haecine est urbs dicentes perfecti decoris saying: Is this the city of perfect beauty, gaudium universae terrae. the joy of all the world?
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum return to the Lord your God.
Carlo Gesualdo O VOS OMNES Fifth Responsory for Holy Saturday
XXIII. O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, O all you that pass by the way, attendite, et videte attend and see, Si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus. if there be sorrow like my sorrow.
Attendite universi populi, Watch, all ye people, et videte dolorem meum, and see my sorrow,
si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus. if there be sorrow like my sorrow.
13th Century sequence O MARIA VIRGO PIA
O Maria virgo pia plena dei gracia O pious virgin Mary, full of God’s grace, stella maris appellaris dans lucis solatia. called star of the sea, giving solace with your light.
Caro Christi quam tulisti in ventre veraciter, Christ’s flesh, which you truly carried in your womb sic sacratur qua dampnatur serpens efficaciter. is hallowed, such that the serpent is doomed.
Hec est caro clavis fixa crucis in patibulo, This is the flesh fixed with nails to the cross, quae surrexit crucifixus vitam reddit seculo. which rose crucified and returns life to the world.
Nunc Marie filium laudemus magnificum, Now may we praise Mary’s son so splendid, regi regum omnium cantemus hoc canticum. and sing this song to the king of all kings.
O Maria virgo pia plena dei gracia O pious virgin Mary, full of God’s grace, stella maris appellaris dans lucis solatia. called star of the sea, giving solace with your light.
Carlo Gesualdo ECCE QUOMODO MORITUR Sixth Responsory for Holy Saturday
XXIV. Ecce quomodo moritur iustus, Behold how the just one dies, et nemo percipit corde: and no one takes it to heart; et viri iusti tolluntur, and the just are taken away, et nemo considerat: and no one cares about it. a facie iniquitatis sublatus est iustus: From the face of iniquity the just one is removed, Et erit in pace memoria eius. and his memory shall be in peace.
Tamquam agnus coram Like a lamb before the shearer tondente se obmutuit, he was mute et non aperuit os suum: and he opened not his mouth: de angustia et de iudicio sublatus est. from anguish and from judgement he was taken away.
Et erit in pace memoria eius. And his memory shall be in peace.
James Tenney HOCKET (1974) quartet for bass drums
7 Carlo Gesualdo FACTUS SUM Eighth Responsory for Holy Saturday XXVI.
Factus sum sicut homo sine adiutorio, I have been made like one without help, inter mortuos liber. only among the dead, free.
Posuerunt me in lacu inferiori, They have laid me in the deeper pit, in tenebrosis, et in umbra mortis. in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
Factus sum sicut homo sine adjutorio, I have been made like one without help, inter mortuos liber. only among the dead, free.
Hanns Eisler GEGEN DEN KRIEG – AGAINST (THE) WAR (1936) 24 Variations for choir
[Text unavailable for copyright reasons]
– Bertolt Brecht from German War Primer
I N T E R V A L
Fritz Hauser ZEICHNUNG – DRAWING (2002) duo for 2 players and 4 cymbals
Carlo Gesualdo / additional voice by Igor Stravinsky DA PACEM, DOMINE motet for five voices
Da pacem, Domine, in diebus nostris, Give peace, O Lord, in our days, quia non est alius, qui pugnet pro nobis because there is no one else who will fight for us nisi tu Deus noster. if not you, our God.
Luigi Dallapiccola CANTI DI PRIGIONIA – SONGS OF IMPRISONMENT (1938–41)
1. PRAYER of Mary Stuart (1587) to Paul Collaer
O Domine Deus! speravi in Te. O Lord God, in you have I hoped. O care mi Jesu! nunc libera me. O my dear Jesus, now set me free. In dura catena, in misera poena, In harsh shackles, in wretched punishment, desidero Te. I yearn for you. Languendo, gemendo et genu flectendo, Languishing, groaning and kneeling before you, Adoro, imploro, I worship, I implore ut liberes me. that you set me free.
2. INVOCATION of Boethius (525) to Ernest Ansermet
Felix qui potuit boni Happy is the one who could look upon fonten visere lucidum the radiant fountain of goodness. Felix qui potuit gravis Happy the one who could loosen terrae solvere vincula. the fetters of the heavy earth.
8 3. FAREWELL of Girolamo Savonarola (1498) to Sandro and Luisa Materassi
Premat mundus, Let the world press hard insurgeant hostes, nihil timeo let enemies surge, nothing do I fear Quoniam in Te Domine speravi, because in you, Lord, I have hoped, Quoniam Tu es spes mea, because you are my hope, Quoniam Tu altissimum because you have established posuisti refugium tuum. on high your refuge.
Hanns Eisler CANON: Peace on Earth (1946)
Peace on earth for ever is the hope of humankind, for that peace on earth forever be is what our peoples had in mind, Americans and Britishers alike; the Russians too, and the Chinese, they all hold that Peace on earth for ever is the hope of humankind…
– Herman Reichenbach (written in English)
9 IN DURA CATENA…
The literary scholar Terry Eagleton in a recent critique of Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion writes of Gethsemane as a key moment of panic in the face of impending arrest and violent death. Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613) paints it as a tableau with the medium of his six-voice choir, the second of his extraordinary cycle of 27 Tenebrae Responsories, written for performance over three days in the Matins liturgy of Holy Week. Like his direct contemporary Caravaggio, Gesualdo casts dramatic light and shadows on his subjects, through rapid textural shifts and chromatic harmony (i.e. movements by half-steps within the modal scale) - whose essence is that the music does not ‘progress’ in conventional ways but changes in tone and expression. As a prince from the Naples region, Gesualdo had no dependency on a patron; the originality of his music breaks the mould even of the contemporary madrigals, and was regarded as disorganized and eccentric until composers such as Stravinsky championed it in the 20th century. Gesualdo’s Tenebrae settings are also strongly linked to his own biography, composed in isolation at the end of his life, in ongoing remorse and penance for his notorious murder of his first wife and her lover, and with all his children from both his marriages having died before him.
The texts of the Tenebrae Responsories were assembled as early as the 4th century, and sung as Gregorian ‘responses’ to chanted readings from Lamentations, St Augustine and the Epistles during the encroaching darkness as candles are extinguished in the tenebrae liturgy. Their words deal with the events of Passion week in graphic moments from the narrative, but also reach back into ancient Jewish memories to broaden the themes of human suffering and cruelty. In doing so, they resonate unmistakeably with more recent places and events - Dafur, Gaza, Baghdad, Guantanamo, Nauru, Maribyrnong…
Two important choral works in the late 1930s formed artistic responses amid the turmoil of fascism and the coming war. Remarkably, Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-75) in Italy and Hanns Eisler (1898-1962), in exile from Germany, both continue in these pieces to explore the newest musical boundaries of 12-tone composition, while creating works designed to have the strongest impact on a broad audience. The differences between the works are equally interesting. For Dallapiccola, 12-tone music was as much an atmospheric quality as a technique, and from the first moment onwards we hear in his work three planes of sound combining and interacting – the rising arpeggio of the 12-tone row, the modal melody of the mediaeval chant Dies irae, and the ‘pure’ sound of percussion with all its connotations as the most ancient and most modern form of musical articulation. Hanns Eisler’s music, on the other hand, is directly affected by his unique combination of artistic influences – his teacher Arnold Schoenberg through whom he writes in a more classic 12-tone technique – and his close collaborator Bertolt Brecht, taking his work away from the concert hall and into the domains of theatre and political activism.
Dallapiccola’s three Songs of Imprisonment are each dedicated to important musicians of his time, and draw their texts from three historical political prisoners, each of them awaiting a violent execution. The Prayer of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-87) was composed in 1938 following Mussolini’s promulgation of the Racial Laws – through which Dallapiccola’s wife Laura was immediately removed from her post as librarian at the Florence state library. It was first performed on Belgian radio in 1940, weeks before the German invasion. Over some years the other two texts were found and set. The Invocation is from Boethius (480-524), the greatest Roman scholar of the period following the fall of the Roman Empire - taken from his prison text Consolations of Philosophy. The Farewell of Savonarola (1452-98) is from his re-working of the psalms, on which he was still working on the day of his execution. Songs of Imprisonment was first performed in Rome in 1941, on the same date as Mussolini’s declaration of war.
The sonic element of a large percussion group in Dallapiccola’s work leads to this concert’s collaboration with Speak Percussion. With a flexible make-up under its artistic director Eugene Ughetti, the group not only supports the work of many Australian composers but also develops projects internationally exploring new styles and modes of performance. Along with electro-acoustic music, percussion remains the most dynamic of modern musical forms, with new instruments still being invented, resulting in new techniques of playing itself, new notions of form and new interactions with other media. These factors have featured in the work of both the percussion composers in the programme. James Tenney (1934-2006) was a major figure of American music over the last half-century, who leaves a rich legacy of works and writings proposing new definitions of sound and its forms. His Three pieces for drum quartet (1974), of which two are performed , were written for earlier figures of the American experimental tradition in whichTenney was steeped – ‘Wake’ for Charles Ives with 4 tenor drums and ‘Hocket’ for Henry Cowell with 4 bass drums. The Swiss composer-percussionist Fritz Hauser (b.1953) travels extensively through the world as a performer and collaborator in cross-media work and visited Melbourne last year for the International Festival, when he worked with Eugene Ughetti and the Aphids ensemble. His duo ‘drawing’ for cymbals is also a kind of quartet, focussing on another of the elemental percussion sounds. JMcC. 10
ASTRA COMPACT DISCS available at this concert
Astra CD 1: Michael Kieran Harvey, piano: Threnody. Australian piano compositions by James Anderson, Andrew Byrne, Stuart Campbell, Michael Kieran Harvey, Keith Humble, John McCaughey and Carl Vine. Astra CD 2: Keith Humble, piano: Bagatelles. Liszt, Bartok and Humble, from Humble’s last recital, at La Trobe University in 1993. Astra CD 3: Lawrence Whiffin, murchitt a daydream, with book by William Henderson. Merlyn Quaife (soprano), Tyrone Landau (tenor), William Henderson (reciter), instrumental ensemble and the Astra Choir, conducted by John McCaughey. Astra CD 4: Kim Bastin and Joan Pollock, pianos: White and Black. Schoenberg, Second Chamber Symphony and other works for two pianos by Schumann, Ravel and Debussy.
Astra CD 5: Astra Concert Archive: “Achilles falls…” The Astra Choir with soloists and ensemble Stefan Wolpe, Webern, Beethoven, Brahms. Choral works with song, melodrama, instrumental solo and chamber music, with soloists including Miwako Abe (violin), Tristram Williams (trumpet), and instrumental ensembles, conducted by John McCaughey.
Astra CD 6: Astra Concert Archive: “first and last things…” The Astra Choir with soloists and ensemble Bach, Busoni, Kagel, Hindemith, Martin Friedel, Wolfgang Hufschmidt, Paul Celan. from Bach via chant, speech-chorus & poetry to Busoni’s 2-piano Art of Fugue Fantasia Kim Bastin & Joan Pollock, piano duo; Margaret Ricketts & William Henderson, speakers.
Thanks to The Rev. Bill Jordan, Maureen Treacy, Sister Pat Dimeck, Holy Rosary Church; Davis Music Centre
Astra concerts receive support from: the Commonwealth government through the Australia Council; Arts Victoria, a division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet; the William Angliss Trust; Diana Gibson, and private donors.
© ASTRA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY Chair: Anna Gifford Manager: Bobbie Hodge Musical Director: John McCaughey PO Box 365, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051, Australia ABN 41 255 197 577 Tel: (3)9326 5424 email: [email protected] web: www.astramusic.org.au
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